Research

Cost & Quality

Preventing Readmissions at an Academic Medical Center

Readmissions have become a critical metric by which the quality of hospitals and health systems nationwide are evaluated. Now that CMS ties a portion of Medicare funding to a hospital’s readmission rate, organizations are searching for ways to improve the overall health of their patients and these rates, by extension. Close to 3,400 hospitals across the country will see their Medicare reimbursements penalized in 2015 as a result, according to an August 2014 report by Bloomberg.

One academic medical center in New York has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce preventable readmissions, and has long been a leader in readmission prevention among academic medical centers across the country. The Academy spoke with the chief quality officer at this medical center to learn more about the methods and strategies behind their efforts.

Centering on Readmissions Organization-Wide“If you look at any academic medical center—but in particular academic medical centers in New York—readmission is more common than average,” the chief quality officer says. “Readmissions have a lot to do with the type of support that people have or don’t have in the outpatient setting.”